Producing hairy baton yarn



Nov. 16, `1937. .1jr-.i MQoRE PRODUC ING l HAIRY RAYON YARN Filed July 3o, '193s IR ms R 4EO WM www 5. .,A 6 M ,w W. 0,

Patented Nov. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRODUCING HAIRY RAYON YARN James E. Moore, Rome, Ga., assigner to Tubize Chatillon Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 30, 1936, Serial No. 93,385

10 Claims. (Cl. 117-21) This invention relates to the production of Sometimes the yarn fails to impinge; at other yarn of hairy character and is concerned partimes it impinges with such force or at such an ticularly with imparting uniform pubescence to angle as to be completely severed. yarns composed of continuous filaments, for ex- As a result of my investigations I have found ample, rayon yarns. that yarns of uniform hairiness and tensile 5 Pubescent yarns of rayon are attractive in apstrength can be produced by rotating the yarn pearance and alone, or in combinationwith cotin a small secondary rotational surface which ton, silk or wool yarns, may be employed to prodoes not vary in size or shape. If an abrasive duce fabrics of novel and beautiful' appearance. point is held against this surfaceand the rotating Pubescent yarns have been made by chopping yarn is drawnlongitudinally through it at a sub- 10 continuous rayon filaments in short pieces (staple stantially constant rate, the point will cut the libre) comparable in length with natural cotton yarn at equal intervals along its length and to fibres and the like and thereafter spinning the an equal depth each time. Uniform hairiness short pieces into yarn in accordance with cusand tensile strength of the twisted yarn are thus I5 tomary methods for spinning natural short fiassured. l 15 bres, such as cotton and the like. Yarns pro- In summary, the method of my invention comduced in this fashion are hairy because some of prises moving the yarn rapidly along an axis, rothe ends of the short rayon filaments project out tating successive lengths of yarn in a plane of of the major yarn surface. This process resultsv rotation coaxially disposed around the axis bel in a satisfactory product but entails great extween retaining members and of substantially 2o pense. constant size vand shape, disposing a cutting It has also been proposed to produce hairiness means at a point on the plane of rotation ben during the twisting operation on rayon yarns tween the members, and cutting through the yarn made up principally of continuous filaments. to a uniform depth at substantially equal inter- V This practice is preferable from an 'economic vals along the yarn with said cutting means.

standpoint, because continuous filament yarns The apparatus employed, in brief, preferably are cheaper to produce than are those made of comprises a pair of xed parallel coaxial rings staple bre. However, prior proposals for accomor eye guides spaced lfrom eachother along plishing this result with continuous filament their common axis, means for drawing the yarn yarns have not been `entirely satisfactory, bethrough the rings in the direction of the axis 3 cause they tend toward the production of yarns and in a loose condition, means for rotating the which do not have a uniform hairiness or a uniyarn as it passes through the rings so that the form tensile strength. 1 yarn hugs the rings and describes a plane of ro- 'Ihe twisting of continuous filament rayon yarn tation defined .by the rings, and cutting means is usually, accomplished on an upstroke twister, a projecting into the plane of rotation of the yarn. 35 ring twister, or a cap twister. In all cases the 'I'he plane of 'rotation is preferably barrel-shaped. untwisted yarn, composed of a number of more My invention will be more thoroughlyL underor less parallel continuous rayon filaments, is stood in the light of the following detailed dereeled off one yarn cake and wound on another, scrlption, taken in conjunction with the accom- 40 and at some place in between the yarn in a loose panying drawing, in which 40 condition and impelled by centrifugal force bale Fig. 1 shows the application of my invention loons", i. e. it rotates between two points of supto an upstroke twister; port and describes a balloon shaped surface. It Fig. 2 illustrates the application of my invenhas been proposed to introduce an abrasive subtion to a ring twister;

stance at some point on the balloon shaped sur- Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a 4I face so that successive points on the rotating yarn modified form of apparatus of my invention for will impingeV against the abrasive. In this way producing hairy yarn; some of the outer filaments on the yarn tend to Fig. 4' represents another modification of the rupture and fray out to produce pubescence. apparatus of my invention for producing a va- However, whether a cap twister, a ring twister riety of hairy effects;

or an upstroke twister is employed, the shape Fig. 5 illustrates a' disk cutter of my invention: and size of the balloon described by the rotating and length of loose yarn changes. As a result the Fig. 6 illustrates another disk cutter of my inyarn does not always impinge upon the abrasive ivention. f surface with equal force or at equal intervals.- In the 11p-twister illustrated in Fig. l, aspiralu ly wound cake I of untwisted yarn having continuous filaments is disposed upon a bobbin 2 mounted on a rotatable spindle 3. The untwisted yarn balloons out from the cake, passes over a guide I and is wound on a rotating take-up cylinder 8 disposed on two rotating rollers 9 and I0. I employ an apparatus comprising a lower horizontally disposed ring I3 having a smooth inner surface and an upper horizontally disposed ring I4 having a smooth inner surface but of smaller diameter. The yarn passes through the rings on its way from the cake to the guide. The rings are attached respectively to a pair of horizontal supports I5 and I6 which are fastened to a rigidly mounted spacer block I1 by means of the bolt I8 and the nut I 9 on its upper end. The center of each ring is in line with the axis of the spindle. Interposed between the two rings is an adjustable cutter 20 which is bolted to the upper support and spaced below it by a thin spacer block 2|. The cutter has a vertical slot through which the bolt 22 passes. Adjacent the ring the cutter has a cutting edge which may be moved inward or outward from the axis of the two rings. The cutter may be composed entirely of carborundum or it may have a cutting edge covered by an abrasive substance, such as emery paper. Y

The operation of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 is as follows:

The yarn balloons off from the cake, passes up through the rings I3 and I4 past the cutter 20, over the guide 'I and is wound on the cylinder 8. The shape of the balloon as it is unwound from the cake changes. However, a secondary balloon of substantially constant size and barrel shape is described by the yarn as it passes through the two rings. The rotating yarn impinges periodically against the cutting edgewhich is placed at the surface of the secondary balloon. The cutter ruptures the outside filaments of the yarn which pass by it in the same way each time. In this way uniform ruptures equidistant from each other are produced. Uniform hairiness coupled with uniform tensile strength ofthe twisted yarn is thus assured. If it is desired to reduce the number of laments cut at each pass, the cuttinuous filament rayon yarns in Fig. 2 is the" same as that in Fig; 1 except that the cutting mechanism of my invention is applied to a ring twister. In this case the yarn cake 30 is held on an immovable spindle 3l. The untwisted yarn is pulled 01T the cake at one end, is bent over a guide bar 32, .and passes through the two rings I4 and I3 past the cutter 20. The cut yarn is then wound on a vertical spindle 33 which is rotated at high speed by means of the belt driven whorl 34. Around the spindle is a circular horizontal track 35, around which is slidable a ring twister guide 36 through which the yarn passes. The track remains horizontal and concentrically disposed around the spindle 4but is moved slowly up and down by a means not shown, so that the yarn is wound uniformly along the length of the rotating spindle. The ring twister naturally runs rapidly around the track and imparts a twist to the yarn.

After the yarn passes over the guide bar it begins to balloon. It describes a small barrel shaped surface of substantially constant size and shape in passing through the rings, and then describes a large and constantly varying ballon in passing from the ring I3 to the rotating spindle.

The operation of the cutter of my invention as applied to a ring twister as in Fig. 2 is exactly the same as when it is disposed on an upstroke twister (Fig. 1). 'Ihe shape and size of the secondary ballon between the rings I4 and I3 are substantially constant. The cutting edge at the surface of the secondary balloon, therefore, makes cuts of uniform depth at equidistant intervals along the length of yarn, provided of course that the yarn passes through the rings at a substantially uniform rate.

The modification of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 3 offers an advantage in simplicity of construction, but sacrifices the easy adjustment of the cutter offered by the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and2. The apparatus illustrated in `Fig. 3 comprises a lower horizontally disposed ring I3 of relatively large diameter and with a smooth interior surface and anfupper and smaller ring 4I] disposed on the same vertical axis as the ring I3. However, in the case of the ring 40 the cutter is formed of a short length of abrasive material 4I on the inside of the ring.. The yarn to be cut and twisted passes through the two rings as in the case of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. balloon of constant shape and size between the two rings, and as the yarn is carried through the rings at a uniform rate of speed, cuts of uniform depth at uniform intervals result. The structure of Fig. 3 is not so satisfactory as those of my invention employing a removable cutter,

It forms a secondary' because if the yarn breaks the re-threading of the yarn through the rings is facilitated by moving the cutter out of the way.

The modification of my apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4 permits a plurality of cuts of different character to be made on the yarn as it passes through the twister. This apparatus differs from that illustrated in Fig. 1 in that two cutters, 50 and 5I, are interposed between the smooth rings I3 and I4. The cutters are both slotted and fastened respectively to supports I5 and I6 by bolts 52 and 53. Spacers 54 and 55 hold the ,cutters away from their respective supports.

Two additional spacer blocks 51 and 51A are provided in this modification of the apparatus. 'Ihe cutters may be provided With cutting surfaces of different width and length. Moreover the character of the cutting surface may be different on the two cutters. may have. -a knurled surface, with the abrasive surface on the other cutter composed of emery paper.' The variety of napped effects that can he produced in this way arel innumerable. At the same time uniformity of hairlness and tensile strength throughout the entire length of the yarn are maintained.

As hereinbefore indicated I prefer to use an apparatus With an adjustable cutter, so that the amount and character of the cutting can be regulated and the cutter removed entirely from the path of the yarn when the apparatus is being threaded or when it is desired to produce yarn that is not hairy. I have devised several forms For example, one

vof' adjustable cutters, the simplest of which is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, and which comprises a simple bar 20 with a round hole through it, s'o that it can be `bolted into operating position or swung out of the way. Instead of a round hole, the cutter may be provided with' a longitudinal slot so that it can be slid out of the line of yarn passage as well as swung. Further modified cutters of my invention are illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6.

The cutter of Fig. 5 comprises a round disk 60 having a peripheral cutting edge of substantially constant width. An off-center hole 6| is provided in the disk so that it may be bolted between the rings I3, I4 of Figs. 1, 2 or 4 in place of the cutter 2l). 'Ihe degree of cutting may be varied by rotating the disk to any desired position and clamping it there. 'I'he eccentric location of the hole in the disk permits this manner of adjustment.

The cutter of Fig. 6 is a round disk 10 provided with a hole at its center. When this type of cutter is employed the ring support IIto which it is fastened should have a longitudinal slot I2 for the passage of the clamping bolt 22. This will permit the edge of the disk to be moved into or out from the axis of the rings I3 and' I4 to increase or decrease the amount of cutting. When this form of cutter is used the edge of the disk 'I0 may be of varyingroughness to provide a variety of abrasive surfaces merely by rotating the disk onv the bolt 22 and clamping it in a 'new position, or the edge of the disk may vary in thickness as shown.

Other variations in the type of cutter may occur to the man skilled in the art without, however, departing from my inventive concepts.

The cutting surface on any of the cutters illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 may be of a variety of types. Thus blocks or disks covered with emery cloth, or metal blocks withknurled or serrated cutting edges may be used.

The following is a practical example of the application of the method and apparatus of my invention for producing uniform hairiness and tensile strength on a continuous filament rayon yarn in an upstroke twister. The apparatus used is that illustrated in Fig. 1. The rotational speed of the bobbin 2 carrying the yarn cake I was 6200 R. P. M. The take-up speed of the twisted yarn on the horizontal take-up cylinder 8 was 34.4 yards per minute. Five turns per linear inch were made in the yarn. The distance between the rings I3 and I4 was one inch. The internal diameter of the lower ring I3 was 5/8 inch. The

internal diameter of the upper ring I4 was z/f;

inch. The cutter 20 comprised a block having its cutting edge covered with 00 emery cloth. The cutting edge was 11G of an inch in length and width. The cutter extended into the secondary balloon between the top and bottom rings to a distance of 1/8 inch.

The method and apparatus of my invention is equally applicable to ring twisting, .upstroke twisting and cap twisting. They may also be employed where no twisting is done, although it is preferable to twist the yarn at the same time that its filaments are cut.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for producing hairy yarn by cutting exteriorlaments of the yarn at intervals along its length which comprises a pair of parallel stationary coaxial rings spaced from each other along their common axis, means for draw' ing the yarn through the rings in a loose condition, and means for cutting the loose yarn as it passes through the rings and describes a plane of rotation defined by the rings, said cutting means being disposed at one or more points in the plane of rotation and projecting thereinto.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the rings are rigidly fastened to outwardly projecting supports spaced at a fixed distance from eachother. y y

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the rings are fastened to outwardly projecting supports spaced at a. fixed distance from each other and the cutting means comprises an elongated member disposed between the supports andi rotatably mounted at a point remote from the plane of rotation, clamping means being provided 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 provided with a plurality of cutting means having cutting y surfaces of different area.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 provided with a plurality of cutting meanshaving cutting surfaces of different abrasive character. l

7. A method of producing uniform pubescence on continuous .filament yarn which comprises moving the yarn rapidly along an axis at a substantially uniform rate while rotating the yarn about the axis to describe a surface of rotation,

maintaining two fixed orbits of rotation of the yarn on said surface so that the surface is of substantially constant size and shape between s'aid orbits and cutting partially through successive lengths of yarn at substantially equal intervals as said lengths pass through the surface of rotation between the orbits.

8. A method of producing uniform pubescence on yarn composed of a plurality of filaments which comprises drawing the. yarn at a substantially uniform rate in the direction of an axis while rotating successive lengths of yarn about the axis to describe a surface of rotation curved outwardly at a midpoint, restraining the yarn in two fixed spaced orbits on said surface ofrotation so that the surface between said orbits is of substantially constant size and shape, and cutting partially through the successive lengths of yarn while said lengths pass through the surface of rotation between the orbits. f

9. A method of producing uniform pubescence on yarn containing a pluralityof filaments which comprises moving successive lengths of yarn at substantially constant speed along an axis while rotating them to describe a barrel shaped surface of rotation, maintaining two fixed orbits of rotation of the yarn on said surface, and cutting a portion of the filaments in each successive length at a point on the surface of rotation between the orbits.

10. A method of producing uniform pubescence on yarn having a plurality of filaments which comprises movingsuccessive lengths of yarn at substantially constant speedl along an axis while rotating said successive lengths about said axis at a substantially constant rate to describe a surface of rotation swelling outwardly at a midpoint, maintaining two fixed orbits of rotation on said surface, and cutting a portion of the filaments in each successive length as it passes through the surface of rotation between the orbits.

JAMES E. MOORE. 

